Russia deploys defence missile system on Kuril island near Japan

Russia’s defence ministry has said it has deployed mobile coastal defence missile systems on a northern Kuril island – part of a strategically located chain of islands that stretch between Japan and the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula.
Japan lays claim to the Russian-held southern Kuril islands that Tokyo calls the Northern Territories, a territorial row that dates back to the end of World War Two when Soviet troops seized them from Japan.
The Russian Bastion missile systems, which have missiles with a flight range of up to 500 km (310 miles), were deployed on the island of Paramushir in the northern portion of the Kuril Islands, the Russian defence ministry said on Monday.
The ministry said that a military camp was set up on Paramushir with conditions allowing for year-round service, accommodation, recreation and food for personnel.